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There's a new update to the game.
Changes listed below.
As you will read, the game is in a constant cycle of fine tuning, and I mean everything, from the look of the craft, the handling, to craft specs, music, the way weapons work, you name it, and it could be changed.
The game couldn't really be called the Full Release, as truth be told, it's just a renaming of what was an advance Alpha build, and as you can see, that still remains true just from the changes in this update, and expect a lot more as well.

Bug fix to stop "Waiting for Players" to sometimes persist after race starts.
Updated a couple of icons that still used the placeholder icon.
Fixed a gate that was clipping through the track on Fiyah! Fury.
Performance fix to rain effect on track textures.
Fixed a bad mesh that was out of place on Fiyah! Fury.
Fixed a bad kill volume that was clipping through the track on Mannahatta.
Performance increases to multiple textures in the game.
Fixes to The Beast on Trans Atol Reverse.
Fixed some bad splines in Atlas Torres & Freeway.
Fixed a bug that caused player stats to not record Shots Fired correctly.
Performance fixes to various particle systems.
Fixed a bug that would cause "Card NONE has been removed" to be displayed when returning to main menu & the "Fromula" typo.
Fixed a bug that would cause the Loading Screen to not be displayed when joining a lobby from a steam invite.
Fixed a bug that would cause Mannahatta's lighting levels to be blinding on low settings.
Fixed a bug that caused controllers to vibrate constantly on Endurance mode.
Fixed a boost pad on Mannahatta that was clipping into the track.
Fixed an issue which caused disabled collisions in clean race to not work.
Fixed a bug which would cause the campaign to say "102%" when completed.
Fixed a bug in the garage which would occasionally cause a crash when changing cards.
Fixed a bug in the main menu which would occasionally cause a crash.
Perfomance fixed to Niagara. Fixed a bug which caused rebinding analogue controls to become digital.
Default FPS cap is now unlimited with Vsync enabled. (will only affect first time installation).
Fixed a kill volume on Fiyah! Fury which was clipping through the track.
Fixed a bug which would cause you to get stuck at the results screen of The Beast event.
Fixed a bug which caused time trail ghosts to be recorded in all game modes.
Tweaked the resolution of the team videos in campaign.
Fixed perfect lap in multiplayer. Perfectionist Achievement is now attainable.
Fixed a bug that caused the "Shield Low" & "Health Low" notifications to not work correctly in multiplayer.
Performance fix to audio effects.
Fixed a bug which would sometimes cause the event banner at the start of a race to not close correctly.
Fixed a bug which caused BOOST audio to play indefinitely sometimes.
Fixed a bug causing the UI to flicker when two racers get the same time on Speed Lap.

Known Issues:

Mannahatta track texture is bugged, will be fixed in a coming patch.
when returning to a lobby sometimes skins aren't applied correctly. Changing craft fixes this.

The leaderboards have been wiped for this update. This may happen again over the coming week or two, once we start the official racing seasons we will begin storing leaderboards on the Formula Fusion website.

Yes of course you are correct, it's just been many many years since I've played any of those games so I had forgotten just how many game do have it.
Still possibly a first for a AG racer, I can't remember in Star Wars Pod Racer on the Nintendo 64 had it.
There is still a possibility that FF will have steering wheel support, there is a lot they can do with it, as it's R8's only game, so they have a big list of things they want to try and implement, VR being one.

For a lot of your review I would agree with the points you mention, but on others, it seems like you wrote them some time ago, possibly in a earlier draft before the last update [time taken before race start for example, which has been shortened, and probably will be again]

Without going into the sordid details yet again about the early problems R8 had making formula Fusion, I think it fair to say that what was promised in the Kickstarter Campaign [I'm not entirely sure what that was, as I've been on the Test Pilot Program, not the KS or EA ones ] has yet to eventuate ....and it might never be the Wipeout games SL never made.

The way it's been explained to me by R8 personnel in PM's is that FF intends to be a racer first and foremost, with far less importance on weapons................. In all honesty, I think they would love to be able to not have weapons at all, but it's been promised, as it's expected of a AG game that touted itself as 'Wipeout's spiritual successor' and as such, is a promise that shall be fore-filled.

Fact is, the Steam release is Not what they are pinning their hopes on, it's a PS4 release where they shall be making their money........... the Steam release is basically a big Alpha build that people have paid to be on, they will get a full game eventually, but just what it turns out like is yet to be determined.

Apart from releasing this game far too early [which they readily admit], and calling it a finished product, which it is definitely NOT [It went from middle to late Alpha build, to full release because they need the cash injection] the biggest problem is, as you mentioned, no explanation on how things work, or what changes what with the card system [We on the TPP did get a list of what changes what when we first got to test the card system, I did post a copy at the steam FF general discussion pages, but I expect that a lot of those spec's would have been altered in successive builds since then, if not the actual cards themselves being removed entirely, and replaced with new or different ones] https://steamcommunity.com/app/38967...7837619040908/

THE CRAFT
We all know how Wipeout craft work, how they all handle differently, and how they all have their own very easily identifiable 'Look'
As you mentioned, nothing similar could be said about that with the FF craft, this is where FF veers away from Wipeout.
From what R8 have given us, it would seem their intent is to make FF look more like a online AG F1 game, where like F1, the craft are all pretty similar.
In FF's case, instead of wholly different craft with different handling traits, FF has 5 different chassis types which give the craft their basic handling trait, but can be changed with different speed class engines, then handling modded somewhat with the card system.
Everything from the basic craft [chassis] handling and the card system itself, is under constant review and alteration, so don't be surprised if in the next build there is some big changes to what you have currently....hopefully better.

THE TRACKS
You are correct in assuming that the tracks were built first, then the surrounding added later, In a answer to a post at the Steam forum about FF Campaign, you can see how the tracks were constructed in some videos I made of some of the 12+ Test Tracks we were given to rate as part of the TPP [none of the tracks seen in these videos have yet been seen fully fleshed out and rendered].https://steamcommunity.com/app/38967...4299575487133/

The lack of interesting dips and humps in the tracks is something I mentioned to them years ago..... If they ever do something about it, who knows?

As for Mag Strips and semi transparent translucent Blue tracks, I agree with you, I loathe them as well, I hate the Wipeout FURY tracks because of them, the 2048 don't seem quite as bad.
Trans Atol in FF used to be my favorite track until they changed it and put a bloody great mag strip loop on it, and ruined it for me....see how it was originally.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3P4w-ztrTY

You mentioned that on some of the Wipeout tracks they had things going on in the background / surroundings giving the tracks atmosphere, I agree with you that aspect is sadly missing in FF.
There is a track we tested in the TPP that has a monorail running above the track, and in comes down at places near the start finish lines which the craft can hit into....personally I felt it just to arcade like in comparison to the other tracks tested and voted it last, and I found it a annoying 'Feature' in a racing game, besides, the tracks was extremely twisty with a lot of hairpins, and it made you feel like you were driving in a Micro Machines or Table Top Racing game, I just hope it's the last we have seen of that one.

SHIP HANDLING
The slow down you mentioned when cornering is off putting compared to a Wipeout game, where you can race around the tracks with your thumb constantly 100% on the accelerator.
This isn't quite a noticeable when using a Xbox controller and one of the sprung trigger controls as the throttle, the problem has been that for all builds on the 'Full Release' version, this mapping of analog throttle control hasn't been operative until the last build, it's all been digital [on/off throttle control] previously, this was a mistake that wasn't realized till I mentioned it to them a few months ago, and they tested it, found the problem and recently fixed it..... I suggest trying this throttle remapping, it doesn't cure the slow down when cornering entirely, but makes it more realistic, like if playing a F1 racing game, which is the intention.

UI and HUD
I agree with you.
God there have been so many different designs and changes to those designs over the different test builds, personally the very last TPP build was the best, it was compact, at the bottom of the screen, and all the needed info was easy to read without having to move your eyes around the screen.
Why they changed it I don't know, I think it might of clashed with some of the 'Internal Cockpit' view [which I don't think anybody else except TPP have seen yet [lt was in the last TPP build, but they removed it for the full release because they want to have different ones for each chassis type ]

MIS
Again I agree with you.
Tutorials will be written, but it's rather pointless writing a manual / tutorial for something that is in a state of constant change.
We are looking at eventually doing a full set of tutorial videos, one on general craft handling/ piloting and race modes, another on craft speed classes and craft builds, and another on the CARD system, including craft and weapon modification

There was a patch shortly after release which reduce the timer before the race starts from something like 10 to 8. When I posted the review and even with last weeks update I make it 8 seconds from the "press [whatever] to skip" prompt vanishing to the actual countdown starting, thats insane!
If R8 games aren't fully dedicated to weapons then they should seriously consider removing them from the game. Advertising a feature on the store page and then in game that feature being completely unnecessary to the game and being severely under developed reflects really poorly on the overall quality. The weapons need a serious rethink both in terms of how they work in game with the cards and how they look and feel. If R8 games can't or don't want put in the work then they should probably be removed since there's barely any point to them right now apart from being able to say "we have weapons like wipeout!".

I'm not convinced FF on PS4 will be a huge success either, especially with omega collection out. While they are very different games the omega collection has a lot of content in it and all the systems in the game work well together and makes sense. FF seems like a mashup of ideas which sounded good on paper but in practice don't work well together. R8 have a lot of work a head of them if they want and are banking on the PS4 launch being successful This probably involves making large changes to many of the systems such as the upgrade cards, weapons, and teams. I'm not convinced because I haven't seen any of the devs say they are looking at making these large changes. All of the updates so far (including 1.1) have been bug / polish and some new skins. Maybe R8 are working on large changes behind the scenes but if they are they should probably be talking with the community about it since a lot of the problems with FF could be traced back to a lack of interaction / talking / getting feedback with their backers / TPP / EA testers.

I'd put money on the lack of small bumps on the tracks being a deliberate choice since it would highlight how glued to the track the ships really are. It would probably feel like the last section of mag lock on moa therma so they stuck to large jumps since thats what their physics system works well with. I remember playing the monorail track as well and I'm surprised it made it as far as it did. Here's hoping it doesn't crop up again.

I've never been impressed with any of the HUDs (especially visually) throughout early access / TPP but the latest iteration is definitely a step down from the previous. Hopefully another HUD is in the works which will actually be good this time. I'm also pleased to see there's a help section in 1.1 now. It's no replacement for a full tutorial system but at least it's something and shows R8 are aware of the issue.

I think an interesting thing to note is the devs responses to why teams doesn't have their own ships or why the tracks lack spectators and other moving parts. They said ideally they would have those things but they don't have the time or resources since the assets take a long time to make at the quality they set. While FF does look very pretty it sounds like the quality they set themselves for the size of their team means the game is worse off for it. Looking back it seems like it would have been a better choice to either set the bar lower for the assets or choosing a more stylistic art direction, both of which probably would have allowed for much faster asset creation and would have allowed more content to be added to the game and probably would have solved many of the issues I've got surrounding the teams and track decorations.

They have not given a date for a PS4 release.
It still needs a lot of work, even in the last update a week or so ago they changed some of the CARD system that alters how some of the weapons can work.

I honestly don't know how people will find FF when it is released on the PS4, it's morphed so many times, not always for the better, the updates have been like having a girfriend turning up with a new hairstyle every couple of months, some look OK, others seem ridiculous.

As it is ATM, I expect a few will buy it, then either give up playing it, or slag it off as unfinished.

The Omega Pack might have got people fed up with AG racing already, if it hasn't Redout probably will, when your looking at being the third AG Racing game to come out within 18 months of each other, there's usually not much of a audience left that is prepared to put in the hours need to learn the game to get the most out of it.
FF is designed to mainly be played online, if people want that I don't know, looking at the empty boards of online room with the Omega Pack, I don't think they do, or maybe it the huge difference in ability with those who are playing online that is keeping new people from playing online [it's no fun being thrashed in every race]

I suppose since pretty much everybody will be in the same boat re: piloting ability with FF, you won't have the huge chasm between a rank newbie and a long term WO pilot, like the Omega Pack suffers.
By the same token, it will be dead easy for WO pilots to get the grips with FF, but tactics will have to differ, as the pickup pads aren't random like WO, you'll have to judge if you need shield energy or be prepared to risk it and continue aiming for the speed pads [both are easy to miss]